The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-01-04

ton so that / could scarcely wait for
the dawn of day, and lay awake long,
/ after the house was still. but was the
first one stirring in the morning.
| An old hunter, whom we called
! Uncle John, was the leader of the
/ party, and TO his care | was assigned.
| He had always wished to see woman
shoot, he said, and / should have a
grand chance TO show what / could do.
Don't kill the white deer!" some
one called afterus.
mo, no." l laughed back; "we'll
take the greatest care"
We rode i'm silence till we reached
the crown of a little hill where there
was an open, grassy spot. / was close
beside Uncle John, when / saw him
gaze fxedly ahead for a moment.
Then, without turning his head, he
said in awhisper:
Get down quick! Here's your
chance! AS fine a shot as ever see. ="
was down before he had fairly be-
gun TO speak, but trembling all over,
and my teeth chartered in a most I'M
accountable way.
"Slip up behind that sugar pine and
blaze away was the whispered order:
and hugging my rifle, / obeyed, all the
time with that dreadful shaking. Ii
was "buck ague," as | afterwards
learned, a nervous affection expert
enced by young hunters during their
first shot at a deer, and even old
hunters have suffered from il.
The beautiful creature, a twO-year-
old buck, stood quietly feeding. out
lined against the sky. | leveled my
rifle, never noticing that | had not
raised the hammer, and pulled with all
my strength. 1t did not ''go of. >" At
last discovering the reason, / righted
the hammer with a click. The deer
raised his lordly head. snuffed the air,
and was gone in series of magniii-
cent leaps.
How beautiful / cried, forgetting
in the novelty of the sight my own stu
pidity, of which, however, / was not
long to remain unmindful. The look
of contempt that greeted me as /
turned to Uncle John withered me.
You'll never kill deer! Never
see such a chance since | was born;
not ten yards of. Poohr' And the
irate old hunter rode of, leaving me TO
follow or 60 back, as / chose.
/ have been mortified several times
in my recollection; have been "spelled
down" as a child in school: have
missed the target in archery tourna-
ments. and have been snubbed by a
prospective mothcr-in-law; but never
DO | remember that my pride was so
lacerated as now. The sunshine sud-
denly lost its brightness. the fresh.
fragrant stiffness was no longer a de-
light, and desperate thoughts flashed
through my brain of putting an end TO
my wretched existence, At last i de-
termined that instead of returning
home to brood over my sorrow, /
would strike off bv myself into the
woods. and redeem my reputation by
taking home at night some trophy of
my skill.
The soothing sunshine and delicious
air by degrees restored my equanimity,
and hope was high in my bosom. |
scanned all the ravines closely, and
looked wisel y on the ground for tracks
of beasts. rode long and far, and
when the sun was high threw myself
beside a little spring that dubbed from
the rocks. and ate my luncheon, allow
ing my horse to Craze near me. On
my right was small patch of green
heritage, across which the tall pines
cast a somber shadow. There was not
sound except that of the horse feed
ing. / was too high for birds; they
were below in the valleys, though now
and then a vulture sailed majestically
around some distant peak. The lone
illness and silence of the place began to
be oppressive. Suddenly there was a
rustic in the tall grass under the pines.
Looking up / saw the head of deer.
/ seized my rifle, and, leveling it, fired
with a steady hand. A deafening re-
port crashed through the stiffness, and
there escaped into the air white deer!
j sprang TO the place. In the blood
stained grass lay the noble animal.
struggling with death.
felt a thrill of superstitious horror;
something as an old Egyptian muse
have felt had he killed unwittingly the
sacred ibis, or the Ancient Mariner
when he slew the albatross. l tried to
stanch the blood, but the murderous
ball had done its work too well.
Hardly knowing what did, l took the
head of the dying creature into my
lap. In the large soft eyes were re-
Elected the rocks and the swaying
pines. As the breath grew fainter the
head turned with a cOnvulsive move
ment, and the fast glazing eyes looked
into mine with n gaze so human in its
iOtpl lippnpa that I was almost ora1od
with grief and terror. / hurried from
the spot, only to find that my horse,
probably frightened by the rifie-shot.
had disappeared. was alone and
miles from home. / discovered, too,
that | lacked one of the most recess
Sary requisites of the true hunter
ability to find my way under all cir
cumstances.
1t was already afternoon. l started
70 oo hack ON foot tho wow I bod .a,,,a